Kirby Sigston is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Northallerton.[1] The village is situated on the Cod Beck river,[2] and the wider parish contains the hamlet of Jeater Houses[3] due east of the village on the trunk A19 road.[4]

Manor House, Kirby Sigston

History edit

The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having 75 ploughlands, and its name derives from a combination of the Old Norse Kirkju-býr (a village with a church) and Sigges tūn (Sigge's farmstead or settlement).[5] Sigston is also the name of a village nearby.[6]

During the 14th century, the parish was part of a huge deer park and hunting area on the eastern side of what is now known as the Vale of Mowbray.[7] A deserted medieval village (DMV) lies to the south of the church.[8]

The village has never had a shop, post office or pub, and its school, which opened in 1846 and would teach around 35 pupils, closed in 1944.[9][10]

Places of interest edit

 
Sigston Castle; only earthworks remain

To the north is the site of Sigston Castle, a 14th-century quadrangular castle, surrounded by a now largely dry moat.[11][12] South of Sigston Castle, near the grade II listed Manor House,[13] is St Lawrence's church.[9] The church is largely Norman but the tower was renovated in the 18th century.[14] The grade I listed church is decorated with carvings of dragons, which Pevsner states show the Danish influence in the area.[15]

Population edit

 
St Lawrence's Church, Kirby Sigston

The population taken at the 2011 Census was fewer than 100, so details are included in the civil parish of Winton, Stank and Hallikeld.[16] North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of the village in 2015 to be 100 people, an increase of ten since the 2011 census.[17]

Notable residents edit

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Conservative MP for Richmond (Yorks), Rishi Sunak, currently lives in Kirby Sigston as his constituency home.[18]

In popular culture edit

Kirby Sigston is referred to in The Mountain Goats' song "Going to Kirby Sigston".[19]

References edit

  1. ^ "Genuki: Kirby Sigston, Yorkshire (North Riding)". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  2. ^ "History of Kirby Sigston, in Hambleton and the North Riding | Map and description". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Parishes: Kirkby Sigston | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. ^ "302" (Map). Northallerton & Thirsk. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 978-0-319-24554-5.
  5. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 279, 422. ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
  6. ^ Mills, A D (2011). A Dictionary of British place-names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780199609086.
  7. ^ National Character Area Profile 24: Vale of Mowbray. Natural England. 2015. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-84754-301-1.
  8. ^ "Beresford's Lost Villages :: Site detail :: Sigston, Kirby". dmv.hull.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b "St Lawrence - Kirby Sigston". www.cofe-northallerton.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Golden anniversary can put Sigston on the map". The Northern Echo. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Sigston Castle: an enclosure castle 400m north of Kirby Sigston church (1008207)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  12. ^ Pettifer, Adrian (1995). English castles : a guide by counties. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 301. ISBN 0-85115-600-2.
  13. ^ Historic England. "The Manor House (Grade II) (1294735)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  14. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Lawrence (Grade I) (1150888)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  15. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). Yorkshire, the North Riding. London: Yale University Press. p. 212. ISBN 0-300-09665-8.
  16. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Winton, Stank and Hallikeld Parish (E04007299)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  17. ^ "2015 Population Estimates Parishes" (PDF). northyorks.gov.uk. December 2016. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  18. ^ Copeland, Alexa (31 October 2017). "Residents celebrate anniversary of vital village hall refurbishment". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  19. ^ Chapman, Hannah (27 August 2007). "US band helps put North Yorkshire village on the map". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 31 October 2019.

External links edit

54°21′N 1°21′W / 54.350°N 1.350°W / 54.350; -1.350